Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, in conjunction with other Secretaries of State from the Midwest,
hosted the fourth Midwest Election Officials Conference in Kansas City, Missouri on Dec 9 - 12.
The conference came at a time when election officials are still sorting out issues surrounding the 2000
Presidential Election. This year’s conference addressed many timely topics relating to election procedures.

Over 300 state and county election officials from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa met and
discussed the Florida 2000 election experience, counting ballots, federal election reform legislation, voter
outreach, recruiting and training local election board workers, and updating standards for voting equipment.
Included at the conference were a number of educational sessions and a technology exposition on voting
equipment.

Highlights of the conference included an overview of federal election reform by Senator Kit Bond
(R-MO) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS). In addition, Jane Carroll, Retired Broward County Florida
Elections Supervisor lead a general session entitled “’The Real’ Florida Story.”

“It is an exciting time to be an election official,” stated Ron Thornburgh. “It is important that all
election officials from across the country work to restore public confidence in our election process and
ensure that all eligible voters have their ballots counted on Election Day.”